Break
by Ehash
Summary: Something about trion makes Kitora Ai uneasy. Especially if it involves him.


Break

She had always felt that Trion was weird, a natural energy capable of making laser swords, guns, missiles... pretty much anything if you think about it. What intrigued her the most however was the Trion body. It looks exactly like you, it felt exactly like a normal body, it is natural to move in and yet it was only a vessel, an armor to protect your real body. You can even set it to feel no pain at all and you can lose limbs and still be active on the field.

The latter was something that she never really thought about, at age 15 she saw most of her friends and fellow agents' heads get severed from their bodies several times, hell she even cut some of them herself. It never really phased her and it definitely did affect some of Border's staff, after all most of them are teenage girls.

But not today.

Today the ace of Arashiyama Squad was seated at the stands, looking intently towards the training field and she emitted an intense aura around her as she stared at the sparring match before her, so much so that no one seemed to seat close to her.

Kitora often came to watch matches as she fancied studying her future opponents in Rank Wars, be it their tricks or weak points, best moves and ranges. Most of the top fighters sparred every day, Tachikawa, Ninomiya, Kageura, Murakami, Futaba-chan and the ace could always use what they got. She is the pride of Border after all.

But definitely not today.

Today was that day again and there he was, again!

Osamu Mikumo, captain of the Tamakoma-2 squad, one of the fastest teams to tear through the B-squad rankings, was currently sparring in the training field. Whether she liked it or not (And she really didn't) Ai was often the first to recognize the boy's strengths such as strategizing and how he uses the assets he has... his infuriating determination.

Fighting wasn't one of them

'There it goes...' - The ace winced as his head came flying towards the ceiling. This time Osamu was fighting against Murakami Kou, the 4th ranked attacker in Border and the rookie was simply no match for him. The captain was losing badly, getting every other limb chopped off before the killing blow was struck by the attacker. Normally this wouldn't be any surprise, the cocky B-rank star often challenged the veterans (he lost pretty much every time), however...

This was his 83th match today...

'This idiot doesn't give up.' - The girl thought as Murakami stabbed Osamu through the neck. Osamu had this schtick he did every now and then, he sparred for hours and hours without stopping and it irritated Kitora to no end. Seeing him getting skewered for hours on end, it really got on her nerves. Yet she didn't really understand why.

'Why should I bother with what this idiot does?' - Kitora couldn't fathom the reason it bothered her this much. To see him lose so much in a single day and call it training. At first she thought he was just being arrogant, he was just not experienced enough to win against these agents and believing that he could was really conceited on his part. He was just so damn stubborn and had a head so hear he could split a mountain with it!

Sure, he acted meek and wimpy all the time and that fooled most of the other agents, but not Kitora Ai, no sir! She alone saw through his facade. How he acted at the press conference, how he saved his teammate Amatori-chan, how he almost died. Mikumo was some kind of super-hero goody-goody wannabe.

Kitora Ai didn't like that.

Not.

One.

Bit.

He just wasn't cut for it. the captain lacked the skill when compared to his peers. Sure, if he keeps training diligently maybe in 2 years he might catch up. Not right now though... this heroic tomfoolery would end badly for the stubborn boy.

'Maybe he is just an arrogant jerk.' Kitora pondered for a second. He might look too much like a pansy but the boy always had a tad of cunning and ruthlesness inside him. There was a chance that his recent success actually got to his big dumb head.

'As if...' Unfortunately, she knew this wasn't the case. Some part of her loved when she lied to herself, when she hid like a child from the truth. However, it was ultimately pointless. Just like Osamu's efforts today and that's when realization started to set in.

"Sigh..." With a hushed moan Ai knew, as she lowered her head towards the sparring field the girl noticed that the session came to an end. And now she had to come to terms with it.

24 Decapitations.

16 Left arms.

32 Right arms.

12 Left legs.

8 Right legs.

She had to accept that it really didn't matter how many limbs she saw flying from that boy. There was only one thing that bothered her.

1 sad smile.

She saw Osamu thank some of the agents that he sparred with and soon he started moving away from the field, presumably towards his bag stashed in the locker room. Kitora's uneasiness wasn't going away, not if she barred herself from doing something about this situation. The A-rank ace shot up from her seat with a driven look and made her way to where the boy would be. She knew he was going to pack his stuff and head home, presumably through the south exit so the girl had to intercept his trajectory quickly. Sure enough the boy used said exit and with such information in had the ace knew exactly where he was heading.

Time was of the essence.

Mikumo took his steps one at a time trying not to exert himself any more than he needed to. Normally the captain would head to his home, the Tamakoma branch building, by car. In days like this however, he preferred to go by walking. It's true that leisurely waltzing through the forbidden zone can be dangerous but Osamu was more than capable of handling some mole mods and bamsters and without considering the dangers involved, walking through such a quiet and serene place was a cathartic experience to him.

'I'm still lacking results.' Was the first clear thought that came to him. Dozens of battles and he couldn't achieve even a single win. 'Should I even be an Agent at this point?' His mind almost lost in all the memories of his perceived failures, from his first Border interview to his latest training session, flashing through like a twisted and depressing movie.

And like a razor it came for him.

'Should I even try?'

Doubt.

'Should I even be here?'

Crushing, agonizing doubt.

At this point his brain was lost deep in a sea of dark thoughts and self-deprecation, his body automatically making way towards his goal. It was a place where he often came to chase away these grim shadows that stalked his every thought. In just two left turns the captain's temple took his view: An abandoned children's park with a single solitary bench at its side. The toys of the park were already rusted at this point, the slide toppled over and one of two see-saws were missing probably caused by the first large-scale invasion years ago. The scenery was already all too familiar to the captain. With the exception of a crimson red figure sitting on his bench. His irises adjusted the depth perception to try and recognize this unknown object that invaded his temple. Soon he made out the creature's features one by one: Red Jacket, Black Hair and piercing violet eyes. At the same moment his went wide.

It was Kitora Ai.

The young girl was happy she made it in time, she needed this to be absolutely perfect. Ai wouldn't bear this much longer either way so she had to act.

On his behalf and hers.

And act she did. As the boy approached her, she took her right hand and stretched it out to her side, palm firmly touching the wooden bench. Osamu was still perplexed by the girl's sudden appearance and proceeded to open his mouth in an attempt to clarify things. This was quickly met with rejection though as the girl nodded sideways, signaling Osamu to not say a word. Her hand lightly slapped the bench once again emphasizing what his next step should be.

The boy complied, taking his sit next to her. Kitora simply looked forward in a dazed fashion as the sky painted a beautiful sunset on the horizon. While Osamu sat facing the ground beneath his feet, his eyes out of reach of her own. In a bout of courage on her part her hand took his and squeezed it softly as to reassure the boy of her presence. Ai decided to stay there as long as he did, both not daring to speak a single word. They weren't needed anymore and nothing soothed her mind more than this single silent moment. She knew she would see him being cut down, shot and ripped apart countless times over. It was their job.

But he would never break.

She would hold him together.

**Author's notes: There are a lot of people that dislike Osamu for his weakness. I for one love his character for it. That's why Episode 48 of the anime is one of my favorite fillers of all time. It dives deep into his feelings of inferiority and teaches him that relying on other is not something to be ashamed of.**

**We all are "Osamus" to ourselves sometimes, seeing us as nothing but weak and lacking. And we all are "Kitoras" to some of our friends, strong and helpful.**

**Never forget that you matter, that you might hold someone to together without even knowing.**

**Ehash**


End file.
